FC Barcelona News: 20 August 2018

The magic of Leo Messi from direct free-kicks | FC Barcelona
Lionel Messi continued his spectacular knack of scoring from direct free-kicks with a sensational piece of skill against Alavés in Barça’s first League game of the 2018/19 season. In the 64th minute, the Argentinian rolled the ball underneath the defensive wall and into the net for the opener.

The best statistics from Barça’s 6,000 La Liga goals | FC Barcelona
Against Alavés, Leo Messi scored yet another league goal and this one went down in FC Barcelona’s history, take our quiz on league goals.

In the car with Arturo Vidal | FC Barcelona
“I hope to win many titles with this shirt,” was a clear statement of intent from Arturo Vidal during his presentation to Barça fans. The midfielder is known as a very competitive player, but off the field he comes across as a shy and happy person.

Busquets agreed improved Barca deal | Football Espana
Marca and El Mundo Deportivo both report the improved deal has been agreed after talks commenced at the end of last season. The deep-lying midfielder’s contract length will not change – it is due to run until June 2021 with the club having an option to renew this by an additional two years.

PSG want Barca’s Rakitic - reports | Football Espana
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic is high on the radar of French champions Paris Saint-Germain, claims a report in El Mundo Deportivo. The Catalan-based media outlet states the Croatian’s impressive World Cup elevated him onto the French club’s radar and they see his €125m release clause as affordable.

Barcelona squad angry about the state of the Camp Nou turf | Marca
Many areas have bald spots where the sand is visible, and given the nature of Barcelona’s precision passing game, having irregular grass is not acceptable. A discussion in the dressing room was that the pitch hasn’t been this bad for years, and the most surprising thing is that it’s happened on the first day of league competition and after the pitch hasn’t been used in almost three months.

Source: barcablaugranes.com